A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Rajasthan said BR Ambedkar was not the architect of the Indian Constitution and that vote bank politics made him so on Friday

People are reflected on the glass of a framed photograph of BR Ambedkar, as they visit a memorial dedicated to him, on his birth anniversary in Mumbai on April 14, 2016.(AP File Photo)

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Rajasthan said on Friday BR Ambedkar was not the architect of the Indian Constitution and that vote bank politics made him so, the day when political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paid glowing tributes to the Dalit icon on his 126th birth anniversary.

Bharatpur MLA Vijay Bansal said Ambedkar was just a member of a committee of which Rajendra Prasad was the chairperson.

Ambedkar was appointed the chairperson of the Constituent Assembly of India’s drafting committee and Prasad, who later became India’s first president, was the president of the assembly. Ambedkar was also India’s first law minister.

After making the controversial and factually incorrect statement, the MLA added that Ambedkar was an intelligent person and there was no doubt about it.

Bansal, who is the third time MLA, was the chief guest at the inauguration of a school in Bharatpur’s Krishna Nagar Colony.

His comments come at a time when the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 126th anniversary of the Dalit icon and principal architect of the Constitution, who fought against caste-based discrimination, in a grand manner.

Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot reacted to this statement through a tweet.

“BJP MLA’s statement is not just his opinion but he has revealed his party’s thinking,” he tweeted.